Full-body Weights Workout

As a member of the military, Loren's required to attend physical training every Tuesday, Thursday and Friday mornings.  Rather than sleep in and enjoy having the bed to myself, I've started going with him to the fitness complex.  He works out with his squadron, and I head to the weight room.

Here's a sample of what I've been doing.  It's a good little workout -- I usually end up drenched in sweat.  (Although the heat and humidity in the gym probably add to my perspiration.  Some mornings, I think it's cooler outside the building.)

I've included links with videos for each exercise

Unless otherwise indicated, do 12 reps of each.

TUESDAY MORNING WORKOUT

5 minute warm-up (running on treadmill)

Round 1 (Repeat 3x)
-Sumo squat with press
-Side lunge with dumbbells
-Dumbbell woodchops

Round 2 (Repeat 3x)
-One-legged dead lift
-Burpee with shoulder press
-Squat with arm curls

Round 3 (Repeat 3x)
-Plank row
-Bench dips
-Isolated dumbbell bench press

Round 4 (Repeat 3x)
-V-ups (do 15 reps)
-Plank on medicine ball (60 seconds)
-Side plank (60 seconds each side)

Round 5 (Repeat 3x)
-Russian twist with medicine ball (do 15 reps)
-Toe touches (do 15 reps)
-One-armed plank (60 seconds each side)

The House Guest

We have a temporary addition to the Morrall-Russell household.

Meet AJ.  He weighs about ten pounds and looks like a miniature ewok.

All that's missing is a little orange hood

AJ will be staying with us while his owners find permanent housing at Kadena.  They just arrived on Okinawa last Friday, and the kennel was packed with dogs.  Temporary lodging doesn't allow pets, so he's staying with us for the next week or so.

Let me preface this post by saying that I'm not a big fan of little dogs.  My ideal pet is a scruffy outdoor companion -- the kind who runs by your side and climbs mountains with you.  (Preferably carrying a miniature barrel of brandy around its neck.)

AJ does neither of those things.

To be fair, the itty-bitty legs and pug-nose don't help him much in the athletic department

So while I don't usually like little dogs, this Shi-Tzu has worn me over with his sheer .... tenacity.  Take this incident, which was taken early this morning on my iPhone:

Of course, the moment I got out my good camera to take non-blurry action shots, this happened:

"Oh hey, now we're going to pretend to be tired."

Go figure ...

Weekend Trip to Naha

After exploring a little of the less-populated northern part of Okinawa, Loren and I decided to visit the prefecture's cultural, economic and political capital -- Naha.

Because Japan (and Okinawa in particular) has so little land, it's hard to describe what's considered "city" and "country" here.  Everything is so compact.  Even the smaller villages have people stacked on top of each other.  So I wasn't quite sure what to expect with a big city like Naha.  Massive skyscrapers reaching up toward the sky?

As it turns out, Naha looks a lot like the other cities around Okinawa, except .... tighter.  Buildings are crammed next to each other, and the sprawl seems to go on forever.

Driving into Naha

We didn't really have a plan, so we just drove around the city for a while.  (In retrospect, I've found a billion things online that I would have liked to visit.  Naha has an enormous public market, historical sites, a mile-long avenue filled with shopping, etc.  Oh well, some other time.)

When we were sick of driving, Loren and I stopped at a park on the outskirts of Naha.

Ocean view

East China Sea

Holy crap, I live on a beautiful tropical island!

I love the various shades of blue in the ocean

Not the best shoes to wear to the beach

Coral fragments along the beach

The park was located near the Naha Airport, so we watched the planes take off and land.

I also oogled the massive selection of soft drinks available.  There are vending machines on literally every block in Okinawa.  Canned coffee is a really big thing here.  Some machines even have drinks available hot or cold.  

I bought one of the drinks the other day.  I wish I could read the labels, because I'm pretty sure its name was "Sugar-Water Death Drink."  I could practically feel my teeth rotting as I drank it.  I'm sure there are much better choices available.

We also watched a game of baseball at the park.

I know that baseball is considered the all-American sport, but the Japanese have really got it down.

Little league is HUGE over here.  There are baseball fields everywhere, and there's almost always a game being played.  After school, you'll see kids running around in their uniforms.  On my evening walks, I usually see at least one dad outside playing catch with his son (and sometimes daughter).

A few days ago, I took Lucky to the dog park.  Two young Japanese men -- probably in their late teens or early twenties -- were playing catch in the middle of the field.  (It's only recently been turned into a dog park, and I'm not sure some of the locals know this, because the sign is in English.)

Lucky, of course, immediately snagged their ball and took off with it.  I thought they'd be annoyed, but the guys laughed like crazy and started a game of monkey-in-the-middle with Lucky and the baseball.  I was grateful, because it wore Lucky out and meant that I didn't have to chase him around the field.

It's funny how dogs can kind of bridge that culture gap.  Whenever I take Lucky anywhere off-base, people automatically gravitate toward him.  (Which, in turn, opens the door for me to try to communicate with people.)

Yet another reason why dogs are so much better than cats ...

Images from the Sea Wall

One of my favorite places to walk/run with the dog is along the sea wall.  It's only a few minutes' drive from the Kadena gate.  There are a lot of cool little scuba shops and restaurants.  Not to mention a beautiful view.

Lucky oversees the snorkelers

Choppers headed for Kadena

You can't see it in the photo, but their poles are about 20-feet long.  Every time I pass by someone casting a line, I'm afraid I'll get snagged in the cheek.  Youch.

Lucky eyes the water wistfully.  (This was shortly after he pulled me into the water and across a patch of coral.  He's banned from swimming in the ocean for a few days.)

Spinach and Tofu Curry

This recipe won't win any beauty contests, but it definitely hit the spot tonight.

This week, I've been trying to incorporate more Okinawan cooking into my recipe repertoire.  I made my first trek to an off-base grocery store and came back with an armful of new ingredients.  Bitter melon, yakisoba noodles, miso paste, bonito shavings, a mini pineapple and a random mystery melon.

Some of the bounty.  Loren is understandably leery of the bumpy green thing

I know this recipe sounds Indian, but I swear I found it on an Okinawan recipe website.  Judging by the large number of curry houses off-base, Indian food seems to have migrated over here.  That being said, it's not entirely Indian-tasting, either.  The lemon in the recipe adds a refreshingly sour tone to the dish.  Don't leave it out -- it definitely makes the recipe.

Spinach and Tofu Curry (Serves 3) Adapted from Okinawa-Lifestyle

-2 cups brown rice
-1 package of extra-firm tofu, drained and pressed
-3 cups spinach
-1 T olive oil
-2 cloves of garlic, diced
-half of an onion, chopped

-2 T curry powder
-dash of pepper
-1/2 t salt
-1 1/2 t cumin
-1 T oyster sauce
-1/2 cup water

-1 T lemon juice

Start cooking your rice.  I usually do rice and water at a 1:2 ratio.  So, if you're starting with 2 cups of rice, add 4 cups of water.  Bring the rice and water to a boil, cover and turn the heat down to low.  Cook for about 30-40 minutes.

Heat the olive oil in a frying pan on medium-high heat.  Add the chopped onion and garlic and cook for several minutes.

Add the tofu and cook until it's lightly browned.  

In the meantime, whip up your sauce.  Mix together the curry, pepper, salt, cumin, oyster sauce and water in a small bowl.  

Add the sauce and spinach into your frying pan.  Bring the sauce to a boil.  Reduce the heat, and allow it to simmer for 3-4 minutes.  (The sauce should get thicker.)

Serve over brown rice.  Eat and enjoy the sunset outside.

Lessons Learned

Today marks the one-week anniversary of my arrival in Japan!  I celebrated it today by driving off-base by myself for the first time.  (Granted, it was to another military installation, Camp Foster to visit with their Red Cross office.  But hey ... it still counts.)

I'm still an island neophyte, but I've learned a few things in the seven days I've been here.  For example:

Lesson 1: The bugs are terrifying.

"Oh hi, I'm a spider and like to eat small rodents."

This is our resident pet spider.  He likes to hang out in between the screen door and patio door.  I feel like we've grown accustomed to each other.  He doesn't bite me.  In return, I don't smash him into a pulpy goo of spider-guts.  I'm hoping that eventually it'll evolve into a Charlotte's Web sort of situation, and he'll make beautiful webs for me that say stuff like, "Terrific" or "Radiant."  (Only they'll be written in Japanese, so I won't understand them.)

Our arachnid friend is roughly the size of a half dollar, which is by no means big here.  There's a web near one of the jogging paths that houses a creature big enough to eat a small bird.

There are also millipedes, slugs, snails, metallic-colored beetles and cicadas that deposit their huge, ancient-looking exoskeletons everywhere.  The other night, I made the mistake of leaving the porch light on, which turned into a lighthouse beacon for all things creepy-crawly.  I went outside to let Lucky relieve himself before bedtime, and I thought I'd stepped into a damn terrarium.

Lesson 2: You will immediately forget all of the Japanese you've learned the moment you're actually put on the spot.

A few days ago, the doorbell rang just as I was stepping out of the shower.  I threw on my (in retrospect, very short) bathrobe on and went downstairs.  Hair in a towel turban, remnants of yesterday's mascara still smudged around my eyes, dripping wet.

Beware, a crazy woman lives here

Two Japanese repairmen had been sent by housing to fix our screen door.  At least this is what I figured out, after much pantomiming and gesturing.  My already minimal knowledge of Japanese had suddenly vanished, and the spot in my brain where I store such information had a flashing neon "Vacant" sign.

While they worked on the back door, I ran upstairs to put on some actual clothes and comb my hair.  By the time I got back downstairs, they had already finished.  I meekly mumbled "sumimasen," which means, "I'm sorry."  (But what I was really trying to convey was, "I'm sorry I stumbled half-naked to the door and acted like a complete idiot."  I'm hoping that point got across.)

As they left, another phrase popped into my head.  "Domo arigato, gozaimasu" means "thank you very much."  I was so proud of myself!  I remembered Japanese!  With great gusto, I bellowed, "Domo arigato .... gozakdfjlsdakjlbjbkldflkflkdfj!"

Lesson Three: The Japanese are wonderful.

Everyone always raves about how polite and kind the Japanese are, and it's true from what I've encountered so far.  For example, the Japanese repairmen didn't seem phased that I'd garbled their language.  Instead, they bowed and told me to have a nice day.  (Granted, they could have been in hysterics during the car ride back to the housing office, but at least they didn't laugh in my face.)

Lesson Four: Always bring an umbrella.

Sunshine to storm in sixty seconds or less

But wait, it's beautiful today!  Not a cloud in the sky!

That's just nature lying to you.  She's going to dump a torrent of fury and lightning at any given moment.  (Usually right after you've dried and styled your hair.)

Oh well, I guess that's the downside of living on a gorgeous semi-tropical island .... life is hard, huh?

I'm sure I'll learn a lot more (and make a lot more mistakes) during my time in Okinawa.  So far, though, it's been great.  I can't wait to see what else the island has in store for me.

Watch out road, here comes Karis!

Guess who's the proud holder of a Japanese drivers license.

Despite having never driven on the roads of Okinawa, the Japanese government has entrusted me with the responsibility of operating a moving vehicle on their great little island.

Now if I can just get used to driving on the left side of the road...